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Last year I was so lucky to travel to the fascinating city of New Orleans in October, where I met Orion Couling as my Ghost Tour Guide. In 2026, Orion jumped on BLBD #217 with two stories: a creepy story fitting for the season, and also a beautiful story of connection, travel and a wildlife sighting that was a sign from his father. In 2027, we explore the themes of fear, storytelling, cultural perspectives on death, and the allure of spooky stories. Get ready for a haunting tale from the Maiden's Tower in Germany, plus the haunting legacy of Julian Eltinge in New Orleans. For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

Today I’m in conversation with Aaron Klink, a chaplain with nearly 25 years of experience in hospice care. What role do chaplains play in providing spiritual support to patients and families at the end of life? How do family dynamics, forgiveness, and deep listening come into play? And how can embracing hospice care enhance our quality of life as we approach the end? As Aaron says in his role at a hospital: “You see life in all of its complexity and all of its grandeur and all of its tragedy. And you see the ways that our experiences shape the ways we approach the end of life.” For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

Did you know that it is more common than you might think for children to talk about past life experiences? From acting out their previous occupations to having phobias and fears explained; from birthmarks related to their deaths to recalling places or previous families – you may be intrigued by this week’s episode! Marieta brings an open heart and a researcher’s mind to her work as a Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies. Listen up to see if there just might be a “crack in your certainty.” For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

Perhaps you’ve heard about Near Death Experiences and are curious to know more. Marieta Pehlivanova, trained in cognitive neuroscience, statistics and psychiatry, is one of the people who has helped bring more quantitative methods to this subject. While the general public and parapsychology often view NDEs through narratives and testimony, researchers like Marieta, Bruce Greyson, and others at the University of Virginia in the Division of Perceptual Studies take a scientific approach. How? Why? What have they learned? For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

What happens to our family dynamics when death enters the room? Hospital Chaplain and author J.S. Park has spent more than a decade at the bedside, witnessing the ways complicated relationships, love, grief, and long-held family stories often rise to the surface in a crisis. In this conversation, we talk about the complexity of forgiveness, what it means to “grieve the good,” how we are shaped by the people who came before us, and his new book We Are Made of Us. And we wander to the edge of mystery: after thousands of encounters with death, what has Joon seen that he can explain — and what remains beyond explanation? For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

I’ve always wanted to explore questions with an intuitive medium, and Susan Grau is all that and more. From her early childhood near-death experience and her explanation of the “clairs,” to her insights about consciousness, connection, and what may exist beyond what we can see — Susan is an articulate communicator and dedicated teacher. She knows things at the edge of mystery that defy conventional thinking and offer a peek into other dimensions. My curiosity is piqued — I hope yours will be too. For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

One of my favorite people to explore topics like “the edge of mystery” with is Sarah Kerr. I hope that this conversation puts a small crack in your certainty of what’s “real,” and shifting that — even just a little — might change your thinking in interesting and unexpected ways. In this episode, we ask: “If we acknowledge the mysterious things that can occur around death, how does that impact our experience of death, dying, grief, and loss?” As Sarah says, “It’s a mystery, but it’s not a complete mystery.” This conversation will set you up for all that’s to come in Season 6 of BLBD. For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

I chose this episode to share again, because I think it is so personal. It could be easy to forget that BK is “merely human,” and think that the most educated among us does everything perfectly. Hearing Barbara describe her experience in the year after her dear husband died, gave me so much food for thought. Thank you, for the personal heart and professional information you share so freely, in this episode and in all of your work. For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

This episode has intrigued so many people, as Dr Chris Kerr is one of those folks who has brought a research lens to what is sometimes dismissed. What if we took the unusual experiences of those who are dying and understood them to be “more real than real”? This episode gets the conversation going! For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

This episode is a favorite with listeners, because who doesn’t want to hear a birth doula and a death doula describe what they do? The range of support they offer through these two large human transitions moves me every time I hear about it. For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

This episode is a classic, and I am eternally grateful to Dr Byock for talking with this “small potatoes” podcaster back in March of 2023. Echoing other practices, including the ancient Hawaiian practice of Hoʻoponopono, Dr Byock talks about the importance of “I love you, I forgive you/please forgive me, thank you, and goodbye.” What might it mean to “make right”? For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

This week my daughter and I talk about our recent publishing adventure of writing two children's books together. We explore the personal experiences that inspired our first book about "energy bubbles" and our second about death, loss, and signs from loved ones. How did this second book come to Anna? How did hospice nurses help shape its authenticity? What part did we decide to leave out? What's in the "Dear Reader" letter? And what exactly is "QT on the RC"? We believe this book belongs in the world. If you know of an organization, school, library, hospice, or counseling practice that would benefit from having it on their bookshelf, please reach out to [email protected]. For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

What might we do to slow down in this modern world, where so much moves at a frenetic pace? In addition to working with "burned-out creatives" in her therapy practice, Sarah Heinss combines her knowledge of human psychology with a background in video editing to create thought-provoking social media posts. One of them recently caught my eye – and the eyes of more than 30 million other people – when it went viral. What cultural nerve did she touch, and how might this conversation inspire us to find more play and less speed? This chat is for your best life! For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

“The language of synchronicities is the language of the other side” – so says Janell Flores Bolte, author of Death, A Love Story. This conversation is a fascinating one, ranging from how the brain works to stories of signs from loved ones who have died. When Janell’s husband died, after defying the odds and living for 6 years with advanced cancer, she found that his presence and communication didn’t end, but it did change. Learning to send and receive this new language is part of the love story of Janell and John. Curious? You’ll love this! Skeptical? Listen and tell me what you think. For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

Jake Messier says it like it is! As a man diagnosed with breast cancer, he’s decided to shape what that means and how that is perceived, for himself and for all the people out there who don’t know that this is a thing. With breast cancer for women deeply researched and heavily funded, Jake is a voice for males who have this disease. An advocate, activist, board member, and influencer – Jake is making his voice heard and raising the visibility of rare diseases. With his decision to “over turn every stone of his life,” Jake opts for being the best version of himself, no matter what comes his way. For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠